GEICO SportsNite: Staal expected to return Thursday

12:06AM

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal is expected to return to the Rangers lineup Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal is expected to return to the Rangers lineup Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens.

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The latest updates on a potential Ryan McDonagh trade

Feb 21 | 7:27PM

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Nov 15, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh (27) skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the first period at Rogers Arena. The New York Rangers won 7-2. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports (Anne-Marie Sorvin)

2/21/18 |7:09PM: Dreger said on TSN1050, "I believe that the Leafs remain and are keenly, keenly interested in Ryan McDonagh. What will have to happen for Toronto to acquire him? Good question. You are talking about 3-4 pieces, there is no urgency from New York to trade Ryan McDonagh. They are willing to listen and if Lou Lamoriello is willing to offer the 3-4 assets, and they are not going to be cheap. Throw out a prospect, who is the piece that fills into that group of four? It will be significant or the Rangers won't make that deal with Toronto or anybody else."

2/19/18 | 9:45AM: Craig Custance said on WGR Radio in Buffalo on Monday morning that he feels there is a "real chance" that McDonagh gets moved because trading him now would give the acquiring team at least two potential playoff runs.

He added that if the Rangers are looking to get a return similar to what they gave up for Keith Yandle, that kind of deal has to happen now.

Alain Vigneault on JT Miller, O'Gara, Kreider and more

Feb 21 | 6:52PM

On Georgiev starting, "you hope that he will be able to control his nerves, that is obviously going to be an issue but everything I hear about him is positive, guys like him, I hope the team in front of him plays real hard. We have to come out with energy, I thought we did that in the Philly game. We had energy and were ready to play. Obviously towards the end there wasn't much left in the tank but we have had a full week to regroup here. I want us to play a good game in front of a guy playing his first game in goal for us."

On the Holden trade, "it's tough to really express what is going on right now, this is a little awkward in that we came out and said it. A lot of teams do it but don't say it. It makes it a bit more challenging as far as team dynamics but at the end of the day we have three games before the trade deadline ends. We gotta focus and be pros and that is players and coaches and it's what we will do."

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Alexandar Georgiev to start Thursday against Montreal

Feb 21 | 3:24PM

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(AP)

6:54PM: Vigneault said of Georgiev, "you hope that he will be able to control his nerves, that is obviously going to be an issue but everything I hear about him is positive, guys like him, I hope the team in front of him plays real hard. We have to come out with energy. I want us to play a good game in front of a guy playing his first game in goal for us."

3:18PM: Alain Vigneault said that rookie Alexandar Georgiev will start tomorrow night in Montreal and make his NHL debut. (NYR)

Georgiev,22, was expected to start last Saturday in Ottawa but came down with the flu.

6:56PM: Vigneault said of Staal, "I talked to him at the end of practice, he said he was good to go. That veteran presence and that help as far as defending and PK will come in handy. I have him slotted tomorrow with Tony and hopefully that can be a good pair, defensive minded defenseman, puck moving defenseman. Hopefully those guys can gel and have some good chemistry and give us a real good game tomorrow."

2:42PM: Alain Vigneault said that Marc Staal will return to the Rangers lineup tomorrow in Montreal. (NYR)

Chris Kreider could return this weekend

Feb 21 | 12:56PM

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( Adam Hunger)

6:57PM: Vigneault said of Kreider, "medically he has been cleared, he is good to go. Not tomorrow but could be any time between Friday and Sunday. He's been cleared by the docs, he skated with us again today, not a lot of full practice time, but he skated today. He's staying behind, he will stay with all our injured guys. I would say that Kreids is getting close and that will be a positive and bring us positive energy coming back into our lineup."

12:56PM: Alain Vigneault said today that Chris Kreider has been medically cleared to return for the Rangers and that he could play on Friday or Sunday. (NYR)

The Rangers are not going to be giving their players away

Feb 20 | 7:30PM

2/20/18 | 10:05PM: John Shannon tweets that five teams have expressed interest in McDonagh.

Elliotte Friedman writes that he isn't sure if Boston is willing to pay the price the Rangers want for McDonagh and that there is supposedly Western Conference interest in him as well. (Sportsnet)

7:30PM: Larry Brooks writes in the NY Post that Rangers GM Jeff Gorton has "no intention" of trading any of his potential "blue chip" properties for anything less than 125 cents on the dollar. (NY Post)

The latest on where things are with a potential Rick Nash trade

Feb 20 | 6:33PM

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New York Rangers right wing Rick Nash (61) celebrates his goal with defenseman Marc Staal (18) and right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings Friday, Dec. 15, 2017, at Madison Square Garden in New York.The Rangers won 4-2. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) (Bill Kostroun/AP)

2/20/18 | Pierre LeBrun said on TSN that there is a lot of interest in Rick Nash with less than a week to go before the deadline.

LeBrun said "5-6 teams, I'm told, have begun to tell the Rangers some of the pieces they could part with. I'm told to varying degrees that Nashville, Columbus, Dallas, Winnipeg and Boston are among the teams that are believed to have shown interest."

Nick Holden traded to Boston for a 3rd round pick

Feb 20 | 12:16PM

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Nov 4, 2017; Sunrise, FL, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Nick Holden (55) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates in the second period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports (Robert Mayer)

The Rangers have traded Nick Holden to the Boston Bruins for a third round pick in 2018 and defenseman Rob O'Gara.

O'Gara, 24, has skated in 43 games with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season, registering two goals and six assists for eight points, along with a plus-five rating and 16 penalty minutes. He is tied for second among Providence defensemen in goals, ranks third among Providence defensemen in plus/minus rating, and is tied for third among Providence defensemen in points this season.

The 6-4, 207-pounder has skated in 107 career AHL games over parts of three seasons (2015-16 - 2017-18), all with Providence, registering seven goals and 15 assists for 22 points, along with a plus-18 rating and 50 penalty minutes. O'Gara recorded 13 points (four goals, nine assists) and a plus-11 rating in 59 games during his first full AHL season in 2016-17, and he tied for 10th among AHL rookie defensemen in plus/minus rating during the season. In addition, he has skated in three career AHL playoff games. O'Gara has also skated in 11 career NHL games over parts of two seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18). He made his NHL debut with Boston on Oct. 13, 2016 at Columbus.

There is not a good feeling with the Rangers right now

Feb 20 | 11:54AM

The Rangers have lost four straight games, eight of their last ten and 11 of their last 14.

They have allowed 58 goals, compared to 32 scored, in that stretch and have been out shot 471 to 451.

Alain Vigneault said on Sunday that this is "definitely not a pleasant time" for the Rangers but that everyone has to keep doing their job.

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The Rangers want Tony DeAngelo to show his offensive game

Feb 19 | 5:45PM

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Feb 5, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo (77) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeated the Rangers 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports (Jerome Miron)

Since being called back up, Antony DeAngelo has 4 assists, a minus 13 rating, 3 PP points, 33 shots on goal and an average of 17:49 per game.

Since being called back up, when DeAngelo is on the ice at 5 on 5 the Rangers have had 50% of the shot attempts, 49% of the shots on goal, 26% of the goals scored and 49% of the s coring chances. (Natural Stat Trick)

Prior to the game against the Ducks on 1/23, Alain Vigneault said that DeAngelo was trying to be dependable defensively and play with some bite but that his game is about offense.

Mats Zuccarello said on Sunday that the Rangers are playing "dumb defensively," getting beat to pucks, beat to the front of the net and are giving up "easy goals." (NYR Game Notes)

Zuccarello added, "That is not good enough. It's been going on for too long. We have to be tougher in front of our net. It's just not good enough. We have to be better than that. I wish I knew what to say to you guys. I honestly don't know what to say." (NYR Game Notes)

Larry Brooks wrote that many of the Rangers recent issues defensively are the same ones that have been present for the past few seasons. (NY Post)

Henrik Lundqvist met with the media following the loss to the Flyers and said (NYR Game Notes):

On today's game…"Disappointing; I thought we did a lot of good things. Offensively we had a lot of good looks, scored four goals. You give up seven, it's not a good feeling."

On what is happening defensively in front of him that is leading to the goals in past two games…"I have to be better. Obviously, there are a lot of mistakes. We're getting deflections in our own net, they're getting deflections in our net, odd-man rushes - that's where we are getting hurt right now. I just have to start with myself, somehow find energy and confidence to play your game. It's hard. I talked about it yesterday where you try to convince yourself you're doing the right things out there. But it's hard when you give up so many goals to stay confident and make that extra save even to be solid. I'm not looking to do anything extra - just start by being solid to give the team a chance. But when you are fighting it a little bit as a group, and me as a goalie, that's hard to even be solid at times. You try to overdo things, challenge the shooter, then they go across and I'm late to come across. Then we have the deflections, where I just have to try to be better on deflections, because it's a big part of the game right now."

Alain Vigneault's comments after the loss to Philly

Feb 18 | 3:55PM

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Alain Vigneault met with the media following the loss to the Flyers and said (NYR Game Notes):

On today's game…"It started off with old-time hockey, a lot of fights and a lot of goals. I thought offensively we had some good looks, defensively they got a couple opportunities there. Our guys battled. They tried hard. In the third, I mean no excuse, but we were running on fumes there a little bit with five games in seven days. Guys came out and tried to bounce back from our game yesterday and came up short."

Is this taking a toll on Hank, "this is demanding on everyone. It's our job, you gotta come to the rink and work to get better and give your best shot and that goes for everybody and the coaches are there to push the players and that is what we are dong." (NYR)

The Rangers have announced that Brandon Halverson has been sent back to Hartford.

From the Rangers release:

Halverson, 21, appeared in one game with the Rangers after being recalled on Feb. 16. He stopped five of six shots he faced while making his NHL debut on Feb. 17 at Ottawa.

The Traverse City, Michigan, native has appeared in three games with Hartford this season, posting a 1-2-0 record, along with a 3.68 GAA and a .892 SV%. Halverson stopped 31 of 33 shots he faced and earned a win while making his first AHL appearance of the season on Feb. 10 at Hershey. In addition, Halverson has made 22 ECHL appearances with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2017-18, posting a 7-11-2 record, along with a 3.87 GAA and a .900 SV%.

This should indicate that Alexander Georgiev is feeling well enough to back up in today's game.

"It's a tough situation right now. I think we are doing a lot of good things but we are beating ourselves in almost every game."

"There are plays where we are there, but we are not. Until we fix that, we won't win a lot of games."

"You can look at the goalie and say that he needs to make more saves, I see a couple of plays I can do better, but I have stretches every year where I feel I can play better, looking for a better feeling. I feel like I am tracking the puck pretty good and one on one I feel pretty good but clearly it's not enough. I am giving up too many goals, it's just not enough even though in practice and games, when I feel like I am facing big chances, I am doing the right things, but I take a step on a guy and they go side to side and it's an open net, if I stay deep they deflect it."

"It's challenging, no question about that. We are not getting points. We are doing a lot of good things but defensively, when we have our breakdowns it cost us."

"we need everyone to commit in our own end, offensively it will take care of ourselves, but we need to commit in our own end to do the right hing and the rest will take care of itself."

What Alain Vigneault said after the loss in Ottawa

Feb 17 | 5:39PM

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Alain Vigneault met with the media on MSG following the game and said:

On the defense, "unfortunately we didn't do a good job, we missed some key assignments right near our net, especially close to the blue paint, and it resulted in them getting tap ins. For me, what might have been more disappointing, in the last game, Davey's line had such a strong game, a great example of the right way to play and tonight they had a real tough time. Gotta find a way to refocus and get ready for tomorrow because we are playing tomorrow at noon."

On being scored on early, "it's not the way we want to start, it was our second shift, we left the slot totally open on something we had stalked about prior to the game. Obviously we will have to be a lot better tomorrow and that is what we are gonna work on."

On Hayes, "combination of, I didn't think he was going to play yesterday and then last night he started to feel better, felt good enough this morning to go, didn't know how much and in the third I wanted to make a few changes and that is what I did and he got a chance to get back in the middle."

Today's game: Rangers at Senators, 2 p.m.

Feb 17 | 1:00PM

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Dec 5, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Rangers right wing Rick Nash (61) handles the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG PAINTS Arena. New York won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports (Charles LeClaire)

OTTAWA -- Matt Duchene is doing his best to keep his left winger in Ottawa Senators colors.

While trade speculation has Mike Hoffman possibly on the move, he and Duchene have formed a fast and deadly duo, which was on display most recently in the Senators' 3-1 victory over Buffalo on Thursday.

Duchene's third assist of the night helped set up Hoffman's overtime winner.

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Kevin Shattenkirk on his injury, recovery where the team is and more

Feb 17 | 9:10AM

How are you feeling, "I'm feeling very well, I think it's four weeks, this Monday. It's been a fairly active recovery, which has been helpful for me to stay in shape and stay ready. The next 3-4 weeks will be important once I get on the ice and see how everything feels with my stride and strength and that will determine my timeline from that point on."

How long were you playing with that injury, "it happened in training camp, it was about five months or so. It's something that grew worse over the course of the season. We were able to take control of it and make it manageable through the season but once it got to January it kind of came to a head. I didn't want to get surgery in March and have to miss any important time down the stretch and we kind of figured it was the right time in Jan to do it and get me back in time for a late push."

How much did it impact you, "I think that I would say that up until 12/1, I had a cortisone shot early in the year but that eventually wears off and 12/1 to the middle of the month it started to rear it's head again. I don't want to make excuses but for a player like me that uses his skating a lot to drive his game, it started to impact me and I noticed that. I was hurting the team more than I was helping them and that is when you have to swallow your pride and make a decision like that."

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Where things are right now with the Rangers and making trades

Feb 16 | 7:16PM

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Jeff Gorton said on Friday that he wouldn't say that any potential trades are "imminent" but that things can change with one phone call. (NY Post)

Gorton said that the Rangers have "a lot of balls in the air" and that it's hard to predict when things will happen. (NY Post)

Brandon Halverson called up from Hartford

Feb 16 | 5:37PM

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The Rangers have called up Brandon Halverson from Hartford.

From the Rangers release, "Halverson, 21, has split the season between the Wolf Pack in the AHL and the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. He has appeared in three games with Hartford, posting a 1-2-0 record, along with a 3.68 GAA and a .892 SV%. Halverson stopped 31 of 33 shots he faced and earned a win while making his first AHL appearance of the season on Feb. 10 at Hershey. In addition, Halverson has made 22 ECHL appearances with Greenville this season, posting a 7-11-2 record, along with a 3.87 GAA and a .900 SV%. He has made 35 or more saves in 11 of his 22 ECHL appearances in 2017-18."

5:20PM: Jeff Gorton told Larry Brooks that the Rangers do not plan to have Filip Chytil or Lias Andersson play more than 9 games this season in the NHL and burn the first year of their contracts. (NY Post)

Chytil has already played two games with the Rangers this season.

Gorton said that both players are playing well in Hartford right now and that they want to give the Wolf Pack a chance to make the playoffs. (NY Post)

Vigneault on Jesper Fast, Kreider and more after practice

Feb 16 | 4:32PM

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New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault talks to reporters after a practice in Tarrytown, N.Y., Tuesday, April 25, 2017. The Rangers have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs and will open the series against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (Seth Wenig/AP)

Alain Vigneault met with the media following practice today and said (NYR):

On the injuries, "Marc Staal was cleared for practice today, full go. Him I would say it's a matter of conditioning. He has been skating for the past five or six days, it shouldn't be very long. Georgiev is sick so we will recall somebody later today but to be able to do that under the 23 player limitation we had to send Vinny back. He was the only guy we could send back that didn't need waivers so we sent him back. Hayes is maintenance, lower body, he came in today....to tell you the truth, I'm not sure. Hayes has not skated, for me, as well as he did when he came back in San Jose. He had that full week of recovery and it's been 8 games, I would say that tomorrow is less than 50% that he can play. He couldn't practice today and I'm not sure what the story is there. All the other guys, Mac is working out and improving, Kampf, Shatty, Kreids is flying, Pavs is getting better."

On Kreider, "I think there is a combination, hockey wise, obviously, as you can tell on the ice, he is not running on all cylinders. I think he has some steps he needs to clear with our doctors, exactly what those are, I could not tell you. They are specific things but I am not quite sure."

What Alain Vigneault said after the loss to the Isles

Feb 15 | 10:13PM

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Dec 15, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault during the game against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Rangers shut out the Stars 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports (Jerome Miron)

Alain Vigneault met with the media on MSG following the game and said:

"The pucks that we threw at their net that one of them would find a way to sneak through, it didn't tonight. Their goalie was on top of their game. I liked Davey's line tonight, you talk about competing every shift you are on the ice, battling for pucks, they did that. Mika's line had some real good looks, a couple of our young D skated and moved the puck the way we need them to. I didn't like the results but I thought that for the most part, we weren't perfect but we worked real hard and did a lot of good things out there."

On putting up 50 shots, "there are a couple of areas that we are going to address quickly with our group, areas where we could get better second opportunities if we do a couple of things differently. We will address that with our group and get ready for the next game."

On the Isles style, "I gotta tell you right now, their goaltender, it's 10 or 11, he plays extremely well against us. He had a real strong game and we just weren't able to get anything past him."

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Rangers shutout by Islanders, lose 3-0

Feb 15 | 10:05PM

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Feb 5, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) stops a shot by the Dallas Stars during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports (Jerome Miron)

The Rangers lose to Islanders 3-0, who have given up the most goals in the NHL this season. << Box score

NEW YORK -- Fans of the New York Islanders and New York Rangers hoping to see their favorite teams clash in the NHL playoffs are likely to be disappointed for a 24th straight spring. As a result, Thursday night will have to suffice.

The Big Apple rivals will play their first -- and possibly final -- game this season with a playoff-type atmosphere Thursday, when the Islanders host the Rangers at Barclays Center.

Both teams are coming off slump-deepening losses Tuesday that further lengthened their odds of emerging from the packed Eastern Conference wild-card race with a playoff berth. The Islanders fell to the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-1 while the Rangers lost to the host Minnesota Wild, 3-2.

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What Alain Vigneault said before tonight's game against the Isles

Feb 15 | 5:55PM

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Alain Vigneault met with the media on Thursday prior to tonight's game against the Islanders and said (NYR):

Same lineup: "yes."

On Pionk, "we had to replace Kampf, Neal had started with Gilly and I thought that was a good pair, but we had to replace Kampf and Kampf and Brady were playing more against one of the other teams top two lines. That led to Neal having more minutes and I thought he handled them well. For the most part, in the 1 on 1 battles, I thought he was good, where he helped his game was that he skated himself out of trouble and made that easy outlet, that is how you stay out of trouble, if you can find that first easy outlet and everyone is on the same page and you can play fast and as a team you look faster."

On Georgiev, "we haven't practiced very much there, I am going more on what Keith has told me from Hartford. I think I said this last week, they really think he is a battler, he competes on every shot and he has come into Hartford and worked hard at his game and improved. I do think that in the foreseeable future he will get a chance to play."

How quickly can the Rangers get back to where they want to be?

Feb 15 | 2:43PM

He says that they will probably keep Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad and, if he is healthy, Marc Staal. (NY Post )

Those players would pair with Lias Andersson, Filip Chytil and possibly, if he signs, Ilya Kovalchuk. NY Post

Elliotte Friedman noted that if the Rangers trade but then re-sign Michael Grabner and Rick Nash and then possibly sign Ilya Kovalchuk, they could go through a "very quick reset" and try to emulate the mix of veterans and young players that a team like Boston has. (Fan Rag)

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Rangers hope they are "due" for a good performance against the Isles

Feb 15 | 12:35PM

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Jan 13, 2018; New York, NY, USA; New York Islanders left wing Jason Chimera (25) battles for position against New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports (Andy Marlin)

The Rangers play the Islanders tonight for the third time this season and first time in Brooklyn.

The Rangers are 0-1-1 against the Islanders, losing 4-3 in a game where the Rangers scored twice in the third period to tie but lost in the shootout.

The Rangers also lost 7-2 to the Islanders in their first game back from the bye week, surrendering three goals in a 6:51 span of the second period.

Pavel Buchnevich has been skating, joined today's practice in a non-contact jersey, is scheduled to skate with the extra players tomorrow and then return to practice on Friday in a regular jersey. Once he fully returns to practice it will be up to him and the doctors to decide when he is able to return.

Buchnevich has missed the past six games with concussion symptoms

Chris Kreider skated in a non-contact jersey today and is able to skate and resume normal training. He will be evaluated on a daily basis as he works on his conditioning and "hopefully he can join us at some point in the future."

Kreider has missed 20 games with a blood clot in his right arm. He underwent surgery to help fix the issue.

Vigneault on Kreider, injuries, Pionk, DeAngelo and more

Feb 14 | 6:28PM

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New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault gives instructions during an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Thursday, March 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) (Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Alain Vigneault met with the media on Wednesday following practice and said (NYR):

On the expectations for Chris Kreider: "from what I understand in talking to Rammer and our Doc, there is a lot of room to go here. He is feeling good health wise, he can resume skating, resume hard training but it was a serious injury he had here. We are looking at, game conditioning and conditioning, I don't know if we are talking two weeks, a month? The docs and him will evaluate this on a daily basis and he will keep working and hopefully he can join us at some point in the future."

On Buchnevich, "Buchie has been skating with Chris, everything has been going well. Today was his first practice, non-contact, he is going to skate tomorrow with the extras, he should be in a regular colored jersey for Friday's practice and then after that it's a matter of him and our docs sorting things out."

On getting those two back on the ice, "I'm not exactly sure when they will be in our lineup but there is no doubt that when they both become medically cleared we will take both of those players. For now our group is working extremely hard and competing. We have our biggest game of the year so far, tomorrow night, we need a real good performance from our part. We are due, I think. We haven't been real good against the Isles in the last few games and I think we are due to have a real solid 200ft game at both ends and that is what I am looking for from my group tomorrow."

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Updates from Rangers practice on Wednesday

Feb 14 | 3:24PM

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Oct 31, 2017; New York, NY, USA; A general view of Madison Square Garden before a game between the Vegas Golden Knights and New York Rangers. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports (Danny Wild)

3:20PM: At Rangers practice on Wednesday, both Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich are on the ice and skating in non-contact jerseys. (NYR)

Nashville is reportedly 'all in' on Rick Nash

Feb 14 | 1:49PM

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Dec 5, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New York Rangers right wing Rick Nash (61) handles the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG PAINTS Arena. New York won 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports (Charles LeClaire)

2/14/18 | 12:10PM: Pierre LeBrun says that if he was Jeff Gorton, he would be "all over" Nashville in regards to a potential Rick Nash trade. He notes that the Preds are in "win-now" mode and looking for a top-six winger. (The Athletic)

He notes that the Rangers are willing to eat some of Nash's cap hit to get the best possible return. (The Athletic)

Henrik Lundqvist described the early part of last night's loss to the Wild as a "turnover-fest" and why they lost the game. (MSG)

Lundqvist said that the Rangers settled down after that stretch and played well but "gave" Minnesota all the goals they scored. (MSG)

He said that the Rangers beat themselves and that the way they played the final 45-50 minutes is how they need to start the game. (MSG)

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What Alain Vigneault said after the loss in Minnesota

Feb 13 | 11:17PM

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Apr 14, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault reacts as Montreal Canadiens center Tomas Plekanec (14) scored a goal during the third period in game two of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports (Jean-Yves Ahern)

Alain Vigneault met with the media following the loss to Minnesota and said (MSG):

"in that little stretch we had 5 or 6 turnovers, a little bad puck luck on their second goal, Nasher tries to make a pass, goes off their stick and squirts by Hank. We had that little bit of time where we sort of made plays we shouldn't have but we battled hard. That period ended well and then we had a real strong second, in the third, give them credit. There wasn't a lot of room on the ice, not a lot of chances on both sides. We had a couple of good looks, just weren't able to get them past the goalie."

What was the message after the second goal, "nothing that they didn't know, they knew that we were not executing with the puck, we needed to calm down a little bit and make some plays, for the most part after that we did what we had to do but unfortunately their goaltender was good when he needed to be."

The Rangers rebounded after falling into an early 3-0 hole, but were unable to tie it up in the final period and suffered a 3-2 loss to the Wild on Tuesday night at the Xcel Energy Center. >> Box score

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Tonight's game: Rangers vs. Wild, 8 p.m.

Feb 13 | 6:38PM

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(Adam Hunger)

SAINT PAUL, Minn. -- The New York Rangers have dug themselves a considerable hole in their quest to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, and management has hinted that a sell-off is coming at the trade deadline. But they've proven on a recent road trip that despite the off-ice news, the Blueshirts are still showing some fight on the rink.

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Chris Kreider says that he is ready to return

Feb 13 | 4:01PM

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Nov 22, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider (20) points after his third period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The New York Rangers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports (James Guillory)

4PM: Chris Kreider tells Larry Brooks that he is hoping to join the Rangers at practice on Wednesday. (NY Post)

Kreider reportedly passed a round of tests that allows him to come off of blood thinners and said, "I'm foaming at the mouth to be around the guys and get back onto the ice with them." (NY Post)

He said that he isn't sure if there is a timetable to get back into the lineup but added " I am going to play this year." (NY Post)

What Alain Vigneault said before the game against Minnesota

Feb 13 | 3:52PM

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( Adam Hunger)

Alain Vigneault met with the media on Minnesota following the morning skate and said (NYR):

On Kampfer being hurt, "there is no doubt that he was getting a real good opportunity and was playing well and skating. It's part of the game. Ryan gets an opportunity to play, an opportunity for someone else to come in and we expect them to play well."

On Ryan Sproul, "my understanding is, big body, can pass the puck well, shoot the puck well, has improved his skating and defending. He will come in, we just picked him up a few months ago but according to Keith he has been playing well. Keith hasn't been wrong so hopefully he is right again tonight."

On the inexperience on defense, 'there are a lot of conversations with them and with our forwards also. We expect our forwards to play a smart game, get on the right side of people, check well and help those guys out. We expect our young defensemen to play to their strengths, they can skate and move the puck and we will go out there and compete real hard and it will be a real good game."